Improvement in furniture-casters



J. H. SCHLOTT. Furniture-Caster.

No. 222,538. Patented Dec. 9, 1879.

' Win ($563,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIGE.

JOHN-Hi SOHLOTT, OF FREEPORT, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN S. EMMERT AND LOUIS F. BURRELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ONE-FOURTH TO EACH.

IMPROVEMENT IN FURNlTURE-CASTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 222,538, dated December 9, 1879; application filed July 11, 1879.

To all whom it may' concem:

Be it known that I, J QHN H. SOHLOIT, of

' Freeport, in the county of Stephenson and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful I mprovem entin Furniture-Casters, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The invention relates to an improvement in furniture-casters; and it consists in the construction of the frame inwhich the ball is secured, and in the novel application of the two "sections composing said ball to the central plate.

The object of the invention is to produce a caster-frame that will be-simple and cheap,

I yet strong enough to withstand the strain upon it, and a caster-ball that will run freely in any direction, and in which the friction of same. Fig. 3 is a side elevation. Figs. 4 and 5 are top views of the two plates composing the caster-frame, and Fig. 6 is a transverse section through the dotted line 1 2 of Fig. 2.

In the accompanying drawings, A repre- "sents the'caster-frame, which consists of two fiat circular pieces, a I), having niortised ends, which, when brought-together, form a complete circular frame, in which the caster-ball revolves. In each, piece 00 bis cast a socket, d, which, when the frame is formed by bringing the pieces a 11 together, come opposite to each other, and serve to receive the short pivots e, which are cast on opposite edges of the central plate or disk, B, and upon which the said disk revolves. After the pieces a b are brought in proper relation to form a circle, with the plate B between them, the mortised ends of the said pieces are pivoted or otherwise connected to effectually secure them together.

It is obvious thatthe circular frame A could I be constructed in other ways, and be substantially the same as the one above described. For instance, it could be stamped or cast out of a single piece with bearings for the axles or pivots e, and supplied with independent caps to cover the pivots. I do not limit myself, therefore, to the precise method of constructing the circular frame that I have described, as other methods having a like result can be effectually employed.

The central plate, B, is a flat metallic disk having the pivots 0 cast on its opposite edges, as aforesaid, and having centrally cast upon its opposite faces the axles j, of suitable dimensions, each of which is provided'at about its centerwith the annular groove i, and at its base with the annular shoulder l, hereinafter mentioned.

The ball of the caster is made in the form of two hemispheres, D, each having a socket, m, of sufficient size to snugly fit over the axle f, and each provided with an aperture, 02, which enters the hemisphere or half-ball horizontally at one side and passes inward, cutting through the side of the socket m at a tangent to its circumference and about its central portion. The half-balls D, in completing the caster, are placed one on each side of the central plate, B, the axles f entering the sockets m, the annular rim of the half-balls around the edge of the socket resting upon the shoulders l, which. serve as a base for and constituting the rubbing-surfaces of the halfballs. When the half-balls D are placed on each side of the central plate, B, as aforesaid, the annular groove t of the axles f appears in juxtaposition to that portion of the aperture 02 which cuts into the socket m. The half-balls are secured in this position by driving a pin, t, firmly into the aperture m. The pin, passing inward, is forced into the space made by the groove '6 on one side of the axle f, and serves to retain the half-ball upon the axle, but at the same time permits it to be freely revolved thereon with' a very inconsiderable degree of friction.

The caster thus formed is strong enough to withstand any ordinary pressure, and will run freely in any direction without choking.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A caster consisting of two half-balls secured upon axles on each side of a central provement in furniture-casters, as above (leplate, the axles not passing entirely through scribed, I have hereunto set my hand this 27th the half-balls, substantially as specified. day of June, 1879.

2. The central plate, B, having grooved axles r f, in combination with the half-balls D, pro- JOHN SDHLOTL vided with the sockets m, apertures n, and the Witnesses: pin t, substantially as set forth. VVILBUR F. DAVIS,

In testimony that 1 claim the foregoing im- CHARLES W. MANN. 

